Morlun (Earth-001)
Real Name: Morlun Nicknames: No known nicknames Former Aliases: No known former aliases Other Current Aliases: No other known current aliases Status Occupation: Hunter of super-powered beings, feeding on his prey Legal Status: Deceased Identity: Secret Marital Status: Marital status unknown Group Affiliation: No known group affiliation Base of Operations: New York, Formerly Germany Origin Not much is known about Morlun. All of that is explained by Ezekiel: since the dawn of time, totemistic powers walked the Earth. These powers are the bridges between two different species, human and other. Since then, humanity re-tells history (shamans, priests, etc), fitting it in it's own limited views, "to get a momentary taste of totemistic force. Some do it for ritual", others to better understand the world around them, and others still "to project a sense of power". These are the ones Peter's been fighting for all his life. Every type attracts it's similar ("gods against gods, patriots against people who think they're patriots, mutants against mutants"): Vultures, Lizards, Scorpions, Cobras, Jackals, Rhinos, Octopi, and many others. They fight to attain the power of a specific totem, "guided by urges beyond their control and understanding", without even realizing what they're doing. They're just pretenders. And Peter is the "real deal". But there are also those who feed on totemistic forces, and on their inheritors (Peter). Only a few walk the Earth, and they hunt those forces for centuries. They can feed on lesser sources (humans, and super-humans) for a while, but eventually they must feed on a pure source. And one of them came looking for Peter... Place of Birth: Place of birth unknown Known Relatives: No known relatives First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #30 Final Appearance: Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #3 History The cargo ship where Morlun traveled to New York arrives at the docks. Dex, his servant, announces him that. Morlun devours (absorbs his energy, not literally eating him) his last supply for the trip, an unknown German super-hero, and prepares to go hunting for Spider-Man. His wrinkled skin, and white hair rejuvenate as he feeds.Next day, while Spidey swings to his old high school to get a job, Morlun and Dex are having breakfast. Morlun establishes a parallel between Dex's croissant and Spider-Man, talking about appreciating the beauty of food. As he says this, Spidey is swinging by, and Morlun decides to tease him: he triggers his Spider-Sense in a very strong way, leaving Peter very scared. Morlun continues his talk with Dex, as Spider-Man tries to understand what happened. Dex asks to be killed, Morlun says no. The next day, as Peter is having a talk with Ezekiel about Morlun, and his (Peter's) powers (the one described in the first two paragraphs), Morlun is trying out new clothes. Later in that day, Peter leaves home after hearing a bulletin that reports trouble on the East Side. He arrives at the scene. A burning building. He rescues a woman, and he gets the hardest punch he ever got (in his own words) and flies against a car. As he looks up, he sees Morlun standing before him.Spidey attacks, but Morlun is unaffected. Morlun only says he doesn't want to kill Spidey, but he has to. He won't tire, won't grow weary, and now that he found him, he can always find him. Then he shuts up and proceeds in trashing Spidey. He bests every tactic Spidey tries, uses innocent people to prevent Spidey from fleeing, and gives him a major beating. Peter (who's a mess by now) tries to flee anyway, and dresses in civilian clothes hoping to go unnoticed. Tough luck Morlun wasn't bluffing. He meets him and attacks him again. In an ensuing explosion, Morlun's clothes get destroyed, and he leaves to find new ones. Spidey uses the break to get to Ezekiel. He asks for help, but Ezekiel tells him that he's doomed, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Ezekiel says now that Morlun touched Peter, he can always find him, and that he doesn't want to expose himself, because so far Morlun doesn't know of his existence. He's not a pure source, but he's a "pretty decent appetizer". Peter leaves disappointed, and sees a columns of smoke: Morlun is luring him again. They go at it again, Spidey gets a few breaks to phone his loved ones, but Morlun is relentless. But Ezekiel eventually enters the fray, saying he changed his mind. In a double blow, Ezekiel lands a jab in Morlun's nose which sheds some blood. And here comes my only gripe with this story: Spidey thinks "...It's a new experience, relying on someone with similar powers to what I have." Well, it's NOT a new experience. He fought alongside Ben Reilly lots of times! Eventually, Morlun gets a hold of Ezekiel and absorbs his essence, letting him fall on the river (the fight has gone throughout the whole Big Apple - now they're at the docks). Morlun's satisfied, and leaves for the moment. Peter dives several times for Ezekiel, but he couldn't find him. He then remembers the shedded blood. He takes the sample and goes home to analyze it. He discovers that the blood is a mix of every form of DNA (human, insect, animal, bird, etc), in the purest forms he has ever seen. Probably "the cells break down" with time, and "he needs to recharge with a life source in each category". But Peter knows something Morlun doesn't. He's not pure... He invades a Nuclear Power Plant and activates the alert. The workers evacuate, leaving him alone in there.Minutes pass, and Morlun arrives. He kills a cop who doesn't let him come in, and Dex takes his gun without him knowing. Spidey injects himself with radioactive fluid and collapses. Morlun enters the room, and picks him up. He says the energy he'll absorb from the "pure spider" within Peter will allow him to live for at least 100 years more. He tries to absorb Peter's energy, but he gets burned instead. He can't understand, and Peter gets up and explains: Whatever the origin of his powers is, the radiation is a part of them. And while Morlun can feed on the Spider, he can't on the radiation. Spidey beats Morlun up. Whenever he touches him, Morlun gets weaker because he absorbs radiation. It's logical to assume that in their previous fight, whenever Spidey hit him, Morlun absorbed some energy, thus "never tiring", resisting every blows, and leaving Spidey a lot more vulnerable. Morlun is backed against some debris, and he begs Spidey to spare him, saying he'll go away and never return. His skin looks like the one of a snake or lizard. Peter questions himself: Should he leave Morlun alive to kill, or should he kill him? His decision is made for him when Dex shoots Morlun. Spidey's hesitation is enough to give Dex the time to do it. Morlun dies claiming it was nothing personal, he was just hungry, leaving a pile of ashes. Spidey lets Dex go, because Dex tells him that "He hurt me a lot". He was probably let go not only by that, but because in his heart, Spidey knows that had he not hesitated, Dex wouldn't have had the time to shoot. So, he's as much to blame as Dex. He doesn't know if he would have come to kill Morlun himself, but he suspects he would. Later, he drops by Ezekiel's office to tell his partners he's dead, but he finds a clean office and a rubber spider stuck to the glass. Ezekiel is alive... About Morlun being stronger than Hulk and Thor. This seems unlikely. Since Morlun absorbed radiation everytime Peter touched him in the final battle, I think it's legitimate to guess that he also absorbed Peter's lifeforce whenever he hit or was hit by Peter before. That would increase the impact of every hit of his, and also explain his "doesn't tire and doesn't grow weary" attribute. That would place him near Class 75~80 Strength, instead of Class 100. A hint in Peter's dream in Amazing #46 (vol.2) seemed to indicate that Morlun will return. We know nothing about him, except he had been alive for centuries. Exactly how old was he? Who has he killed in the past? Could he be able to transcend death, reincarnate, or anything else? Not likely, but we never know. Will others like him come hunting for Spidey? Ezekiel said there were a few roaming this world. So that makes them "a few minus one". Will they come? Will Spidey use the same tactic? Will Spidey be forced to kill them? Lots of questions that will probably stay unanswered. Dust to dust During the "The Other" crossover, Morlun did return to kill Spidey off for good. In a spectacular fight Morlun beat Spider-Man to pulp and even ripped one of his eye-balls out and ate it!! He was just about to feed off him when the authorities arrived. Morlun fled the scene, just to come back later to finish his job. In a desperate atempt to save his life Peter was taken to a Hospital. But not even in the ICU Peter was save. Morlun returned for him but how could he have known what happened next: when Mary Jane saw what Morlun was about to do she jumped on his back to somehow stop him in a desperate move but was easily thrown aside by him. Meanwhile an inner voice spoke to the unconcious Peter forcing him to react just in the same moment Morlun stood towering over Mary Jane. A horribly transformed Peter leaped out of bed onto Morlun nailing him to the ground with the two newly developed stingers coming out of Peter´s wrists, turning Morlun into a pile of dust. Then Peter died in MJ´s arms... Characteristics Height: 6' 2" Weight: 175 lbs Eyes: Glowing Red Hair: Long black (white when weakened) Unusual Features: Shows reptile skin when he absorbs too much radiation. Powers Known Powers: Doesn't tire and doesn't grow weary. Absorbs life-forces on touch. Known Abilities: Once he touches anybody, he can always find him/her. Strength Level: Very high. Spider-Man commented that he hits harder than Thor and Hulk. Miscellaneous Equipment: None Transportation: None Weapons: No known weapons. Education: Unknown. Presumed High. Notes * Needs to feed on life-forces regularly, and on totemistic (purer) sources occasionally. Doesn't digest radiation too well. Trivia * Recommended Readings * Related Articles * External Links * References * ---- Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Bad Characters Category:Deceased Characters